Octopus Deployments

Owned by Vincent Josset
Last updated: Jul 25, 2024
2 min read

This document describes the mechanisms and requirements for Softrip's automated deployment solution "Octopus".

 

Octopus Deploy for Self-Hosted Customers

Octopus deploy is the third-party tool that Softrip uses to perform updates to the SoftripNext platform automatically without the need for a user having to log on to servers to perform updates manually. This allows Softrip to maintain a uniform standard for updates, update more efficiently, and reduce human error. Note: The following documentation describes Softrip’s current implementation of Octopus Deploy; it is not the only style of implementation and is subject to change.

­How it works

Softrip installs a service onto the target servers (the servers hosting our applications), called a “tentacle”, that sends a very small poll about every 5 seconds over https to our server that hosts our main Octopus hub, asking if there are any instructions that it needs to carry out. In the event that an authorized user from Softrip schedules a deployment, the tentacle downloads any required packages and a set of instructions required to deploy those packages to their proper locations. The tentacle service then executes these instructions in a series of steps, typically through PowerShell scripts.

What you need to do

First, you need to make sure that the server meets the minimum requirements for the tentacle to operate correctly on a windows server.

OS:

  • Windows Server 2016

.Net Versions

PowerShell:

  • Windows PowerShell 4.0

Hardware:

  • Hardware minimum: 512MB RAM, 1GHz CPU, 2GB free disk space.

Source: Tentacle installation requirements - Octopus Deploy

Next, you need to ensure that the target servers are able to contact our main Octopus server. This requires your hosting server to be able to reach octopus.softrip.com on TCP 10943 and 443. Note that both ports are secure (SSL).